


keith and lance and the beach

by Elzie (gallaxygay)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron)-centric, M/M, Pining Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 20:16:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13725198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gallaxygay/pseuds/Elzie
Summary: Keith met Lance for the first time on the beach. He doesn't remember the name of the area or the reason for being there - just a boy with brown hair, browner skin, and the sea-In which Keith met Lance before the start of it all.





	keith and lance and the beach

**Author's Note:**

> hey hey this is my first fic so thank you for reading !! lemme know what you think down in the comments, if ya liked it (or if you'd like to see anything else in the future!)

Keith met Lance for the first time on the beach. He doesn't remember the name of the area or the reason for being there - just a boy with brown hair, browner skin, and the sea. Or, rather, Keith didn't meet Lance that day - but from a distance away he had spotted the boy standing by the water with fists clenched and feet set firmly in the sand. The sea and the wind and Lance's hair were in wild frenzy with each other, the pre-hurricane weather whipping the beach into something new. Idly, he had wondered if the boy living in the area between sea and land was safe and how he managed to stay so steady in the face of oncoming devastation. His throat burnt with questions and questions - wondering what the boy, what Lance, was doing on the beach, how he made his way out to the beach on the edge of Florida hidden behind layers and layers of tight-lipped locals, whether he knew about the danger of standing in front of such a volatile body of water, what brought him here too - 

 

His thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt as Lance turned around. Dark blue eyes met purple eyes and suddenly a deep, nauseating fear made itself known in the pit of Keith's stomach. He got the feeling that he was not supposed to be watching the boy with brown hair and browner skin. The boy - Lance - had blinked at him, mouth softening into a thin smile. For a moment, they sat still in time. Then Lance blinked again and his lips were creating indecipherable words, just too quiet to overpower the waves. 

Keith didn't stick around long enough to understand what he's saying. His stomach was twisted in knots just looking at the boy. Before he had time to think too long about those paralyzing eyes, his feet hit the sand hard in frantic, bounding steps away from the beach. As his eyes scanned for the entry to the beach behind a storm of sand, his head flew with a litany of admonishments for getting caught up in something so... _not right_. He shouldn't have stuck around. He shouldn't have stayed, he should have left when they made eye contact - before that, even. 

When he was little, Keith used to watch horror movies in the early morning while Shiro slept. Each and every time the movies would scare him half to death, leaving shaking and and angry and wondering what the fuck stopped people from running _-_ from making their own getaway. He thought, in the moment, he thought that he understood what kept people from running. It's piercing blue eyes and millions of questions. It's the atmosphere of a hurricane and the harsh sting of sand. Keith took a moment to warily glance back, sand still flying in the air. The streets were empty, though, nothing but sandbags and boarded up windows. He wondered if anybody still lives in the houses and whether or not they saw him running like mad. 

That night, the hurricane sirehns blared, and Keith spent his time in a small, concrete shelter. Idly, he looked to see if there was a boy with brown hair, browner skin, and blue eyes. Though, in the back of his mind, Keith had a feeling that the boy who lived (even just for a little bit) on the strip of area between land and sea would never make himself home in such cramped spaces.

He rested his head in between his knees and vowed that he'd leave Florida after the hurricane. The state fucking sucked. Maybe, he'd go to Texas next or maybe he'd follow Shiro to the Garrison in a year or maybe he'd try to find his father. But he wouldn't be in Florida, he promised himself. Florida was just pain and tourists and hurricanes and blue eyed boys. 

\---

Keith didn't realize that Lance was the boy until he had finally seen him by a sea, seven months into their space journey. 

They landed on planet Valtameri. With blue skies and expansive, dark blue seas, the planet had been just heartbreakingly familiar enough for Lance, who had disappeared not two minutes into the briefing, with the eyes of concerned teammates on his back. The meeting had ended, then, as the rest of the paladins sat in silence with a sick feeling in each of their stomachs. Seeing Lance upset was harder than seeing any other paladin upset because - well because Lance never got upset, not really. 

The night after the briefing Keith and Lance had gotten into an argument. It wasn't like normal. It wasn't what Keith had been expecting. Fuck, it probably wasn't even a real argument. He had been the one to provoke Lance - had gone up to him with a, "You've been crying, cargo pilot?" 

He expected a smile, or maybe a witty response - not for Lance to burst into tears intermixed with apologies. Lance had heaved in each breath like breathing was more pain than not while desperately trying to reign in his sobs. Keith had frozen, god, the entire team had frozen. Then, Lance sucked in a breath and rubbed his eyes and said, "I'm sorry, I just missed the ocean," before disappearing for the second time that day. 

(Lance didn't know, but Allura had spent the night on a video call with the Valtami people, inquiring about whether they would be able to visit the beach. Everyone but Lance had sat in on that meeting, hoping that they would be able to do something for their friend.

Allura had explained the purpose of the blue paladin, then. Keith felt like shit, and had cried himself to sleep later than night) 

\---

Lance stood on the area between land and sea. 

Keith looked at him, shirt off and hands balled by his sides, as the wind whipped his hair and the sand in controlled frenzy. He closed his eyes hard, because in that moment Lance looked so healthy and so strong and so... so beautiful. The sight took his breath away and Keith realized that he would fight and kill for Lance to look like this again. For Lance to feel like this again, every day for the rest of his life. He'd fight Zarkon again so that he could be by the sea, where land meets water. He was struck by the image of a lithe boy with brown hair and browner skin and - 

His feet hit the sand hard and -

"Lance," he called out. "Lance!"  

Lance turned around, startled, and dark blue eyes met purple ones and - 

He blinked hard as water splashed into his eyes. And then his thoughts were running in circles aloud, "Were you there that day? The day before the hurricane hit? In Florida?" 

He saw Lance's eyes widen in realization, then a friendly smile overtook his features. "That was you? Why'd you run?" 

"Why were you there?" Keith pressed. 

Lance just shrugged. "I like the water." 

"I know," said Keith, accepting the non-answer. 

"Why'd you run?" 

"I was scared." 

"Of me? The great Keith Kogane?" 

Keith snorted lightly. "Yeah Lance, of you. Don't know why, though." 

Keith expected to hear Lance's boisterous laugh. When he was met with the sound of crashing waves instead, he glanced to his side to see Lance with a strange look on his face. After a beat or two of silence, Lance said, "Maybe it was good that you ran." 

A wave almost knocked Keith over, then. The water was warm and smelled like salt, _like Lance_ , his brain supplied. Before Keith could stop himself he said, "You have nice eyes." 

"You too." 

"And nice hair," Keith continued, emboldened by Lance's easy acceptance. 

"Nice try, Mullet."  

 


End file.
